Road or street scraping machine.



Patented Aug. I, I899. L. W. TUWNE.

ROAD 0R STREET SCBAPING MACHlNE.

(Application filed Jan. 30, 1899.)

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(No Model.)

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No. 630,275. Patented Aug. I, I899.-

L. W. TOWNE. ROAD 0R STREET SCBAPING MACHINE.

(Applicatiofi filed Jan. a0, 1899.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2,

(No Model.)

WITNESSES A TTbHNEY.

UNTTED STATES PATENT y OFFICE.

LORIN \V. TOWVNE, OF KEENE, NElV HAMPSHIRE.

ROAD OR STREET SCRAPING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 630,275, dated August 1, 1899. Application filed January 30, 1899. Serial No. 703,785. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LORIN WVJlOWNE, a citizen of the United States, residing in Keene, in the county of Cheshire and State of New Hampshire, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Road or Street Scraping Ma.- chines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to road or street scraping machines; and it has for its object to provide a machine of the class specified which shall be simple and inexpensive in construction and which shall operate effectively to remove from a road or street all foreign material which may have accumulated thereon without injury to the surface of such road or street.

My invention is specially designed for re-, moving the mud and dirt from the surface of macadamized roads and streets; but it is ob viously adapted, either in the form shown or when slightly modified, for'use in other relations, such as the grading of dirt roads or the removal of loose material from the surface of any road or street.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a plan view of a machine constructed in accordance with my invention, the draft appliances being in part broken away. Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken at right angles to the scraper-supporting shafts of the machine. Fig. 3 is a detail view of a modified arrangement of devices for raising and lowering the scraper-blades; and Fig. 4- is a perspective view of the entire machine, except that only a portion of the draft appliances are shown.

The details of construction are as follows: The skeleton frame 1 of the machine is preferably formed of bar-steel or wrought-iron, the main or outer portion of which may be formed of a single piece, the meeting ends in the rear being joined by means of a reinforcing-plate and bolts, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 3 of the drawings. This outer portion of the frame is preferably bent to octagonal form, 'havin parallel sides 2 and 2, parallel ends 3 and 5, and corner-sections 1t, 4t, 5, and 5 in order that it may be symmetrical in appearance and also be better adapted for the support of those portions of the machine that are movable with reference to the frame.

The front portion 3 of the frame is bowed upward in order to admit the front supportported by four spring-arms 18.

ing-wheel 6 and its frame 7 thereunder. The axles of the rear wheels 8 are respectively mounted in the sides 2 and 2 of the frame and bracket-pieces 9, bolted or riveted to said sides. The sides 2 and 2 of the frame are connected with the front end 3 by means of diagonal draft and brace bars 10. These draft and brace bars 10 are bolted or riveted together near their front ends, and an extension-barl 1 is fastened between them by means of the same bolt or rivet. A diagonal bracebar 12 is bolted at its respective ends to the side 2 and the corner-piece 1. A similar brace-bar 12 is bolted at its respective ends to the side 2 and the side 2, and a third bracebar 12 similarlyjoins the end 3 and the side 2. The bar 12 is joined to the end 3 by a short brace-bar 13, and the bar 12 is connected to the corner-piece 5 by a similar bar 13. Two shafts 14 and 15 extend parallel to the long brace-bars 12, 12, and 12 the former being journaled at one end in corner-piece 4: and the other end in an angleiron 16, bolted to the side 2 of the frame. The shaft 15 is journaled at one end in corner-piece 5 and at its other end in an angle-iron 17, bolted to side 2 Rigidly fastened to each of these shafts 14 and'15 by means of bolts or otherwise are the inner ends of a plurality of curved spring-arms 18, sixteen of these spring-arms being shown as fastened to each shaft. The number, however, may obviously be varied, as may be desired in practice. Securely bolted or riveted to the outer free ends of these arms are scraper-blades 19, there being in the form shown four scraper-blades corresponding to each shaft, so that each blade is sup- These blades are so arranged as to slightly overlap, and thus make a continuous scraper formed of four separate parts that are independently supported, and there fore independently yielding in order to accommodate the scraper as a whole to irregularities in the surface to be scraped or cleaned.

I desire it to be understood that for certain purposes the blades may be omitted from the spring-arms of either or both sets in order to perform a different service from that performed by the scraper-blades, in which case the ends of the spring-arms would obviously act upon the surface over which the machine is moved, or, if preferred, they might be pro,-

vided with blades or points of any desired shape. The number of sets of spring-arms or spring-arms and scraper-blades may also be greater than that shown. I have found that two sets of blades arranged at an angle of substantially forty-five degrees to the direction of movement of the machine serve admirably to clean a roadway or street-surface; but it might be desirable under certain upwardly projecting arms 20, the lower ends of which are rigidly attached to said shafts by means of set screws or bolts A footrest 21 is provided with angle-irons 22, the

downwardly-projecting portions of which are shaft.

respectively pivoted to the upper ends of the upwardly and forwardly projecting arms 20. The rear shaft 15 is also provided with two upwardly and rearwardly projecting arms 23, the lower ends of which are rigidly connected to said shaft by means of set screws or bolts 23, and the forward shaft is provided with a single upwardly and rearwardly projecting arm 24, to which it is fastened by means of a set screw or bolt 24. A seat 25 for the operator is provided at the rear with two arms 26 of the proper length to elevate the seat suffieiently above the foot-board, and the lower ends of these supporting-arms are respectively pivoted to the upper ends of the rearwardly-projecting arms 23 carried by the rear The front portion of the seat 25 is provided with a single downwardly-projecting arm 27, the lower end of which is pivoted to the single rearwardly-projecting arm 24 on the front shaft. Instead of a single jointed connection between the seat and the front shaft two of such connections might be provided, if desired. One will, however, ordinarily be sufficient and of course simplifies and makes lighter the construction.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that when'the operator is on the seat his weight will act upon both shafts through the lever-arms 26 23 and 27 24 and exert the requisite amount of pressure upon the scraperblades. If, on the other hand, the operator lean forward or stand to bring his weight upon the foot-rest 21, such weight will be sufficient to act, through the lever-arms 22 20, to rock the shafts and raise the scraper-blades from the surface of the road or street.

In order that the position and movementof the shafts may be controlled by hand in connection with or independently of the control by the weight of the operator, I provide the rear shaft with a substantially vertical arm 28, the lower end of which is rigidly fastened to the shaft, and the front shaft with a similar arm 29, which is extended upward to form a hand-lever 30. The means for fastening the operating-arms to the shafts 14 and 15 are more clearly shown in Fig. 4, where they are employed in the same relation and for the same purpose as in the construction illustrated in the other figures of the drawings.

This hand-lever and the arm 28 are connected by a substantially horizontal rod or bar 31, to which it is pivoted. This horizontal rod or bar is also provided with a segment 32, having a single notch 33, in such position as to cooperate with a spring-actuated latch 34, under control of the hand of the operator, as is usual in such devices, to lock the scraper-blades in raised position when the handle is moved forward to bring the latch into the notch. It will thus be seen that the hand-lever may be used exclusively for raising the scraper-blades or that it may be used in conjunction with the weight of the operator either for raising the blades or for regulating the pressure to be exerted upon the road-surface.

It will be readily understood that the two sets of scraper-blades may be so adjusted as to be held against the road-surface under different degrees of pressure by loosening the connections between either set of operatingarms and the corresponding shaft and turning the latter on its axis a sufficient degree to bring the lower edges of its scraper-blades into either a higher or a lower plane than that of the edges of the other set of blades. A similar relative arrangement might be brought about by adjusting either set of spring-arms on its shaft; but this would obviously involve the manipulation of a greater number of set screws or bolts.

It is desirable to provide for different degrees of pressure for the different sets of scraper-blades in order that the forward set may loosen and remove the greater portion of the dirt and mud, while the rear set may exert a lighter pressure that is suitable for removing the small quantity of material that is left by the first set without injury to the road-surface. In some cases it may be found advisable to have the rear set .of blades project farther downward than the forward set in order that each may remove its proper proportion of the dirt. Any relative adjustment of the sets of blades may be made which may be found advantageous in any particular case in order to secure the desired result. Other means than that shown might obviously be employed for insuring different degrees of pressure for the sets of scraper-blades upon the road-surface if found advantageous or desirable.

The frame is supported, preferably,by three Wheels, the two rear wheels being mounted as hereinbefore described. The frame 7 of the front wheel 6 is rigidly connected to the draft-bolt 35 and supports a metal block 36,

which is bolted to the end 3 of the frame. The draft-bolt is free to turn in the block 36 and also in the socket in the bar 1]. rear end of the draft-pole is rigidly fastened to the draft-boit by a set-screw or otherwise in order that the wheel 6 may turn with the draft-pole. It will thus be seen that the machine may be readily guided and that the strain due to moving the machine is applied through the bars 10 and 11 to the sides of the frame in such a Way that there will be no tendency to warp the frame or otherwise injure or destroy it.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a modification of hand-lever-operated mechanism for raising and depressing the scraper-blades. In this modification I mount a frame 37 rigidly upon the brace-bars 12 and 12 or other stationary parts, and on this frame I mount the segment 32 and also pivot the hand-lever 30. The shafts 14 and 15 are respectively provided with upwardly-projecting arms 28 and 29, which are connected to the shafts by means of set screws or bolts 28 and 29 and are connected at their upper ends by a bar 31, to which they are pivoted. The lower end of the operating-lever is pivotally connected to the frame 37 and to the bar 31*, it being preferably provided with a longitudinal slot 38 of sufficient length so that the desired movement of the shafts may be effected without any binding action between the said parts. It will be readily seen that with this construction the upper end of the lever will be moved toward the operator instead of away from him to raise the scraper-blades and in the opposite direction to depress them.

This may he sometimes more convenient in practice, as will be readily understood. The specific means for effecting this result is not material, there being various forms of devices that maybe employed by one skilled in the art.

\Vhile I have devised a form of machine, as illustrated in the drawings and hereinbefore described, that has been found to be admirably adapted to practical working, I do not desire to limit my invention to the details of construction shown, since changes may obviously be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim as my inventionl. The combination with a skeleton frame provided with wheels-and draft devices, of a plurality of rock-shafts provided with springarms, a seat, and means connecting said seat with said shafts to rock the latter simultaneously.

2. The combination with a skeleton frame provided with wheels and draft devices, of a plurality of rock-shafts provided with springarms, a foot-rest and means between the same and said shafts for rocking the latter simultaneously upon their axes.

3. In a road or street scraping machine, the combination with a frame provided with supporting-wheels and draft devices, of a plural- The l ity of diagonally-arranged shafts or rods journaled in said frame, a plurality of scraperblades independently connected to said shafts by spring-arms, means for rocking said shafts or rods simultaneously to raise or depress said scraper-blades, and adjusting means for insuring different degrees of pressure upon the road-surface by the two sets of scraperblades.

4. The combination with a skeleton frame provided with wheels and draft devices, of a plurality of rock-shafts provided with springarms, a seat, means connecting said seat with o. The combination with a frame provided scraper-blades independently supported by 0 said arms, a seat and lever-and-link connections between the seat and said shafts whereby weight applied to the seat rocks the shafts rearwardly, a foot-rest and lever-and-link connections between the same and the whereby weight applied to said rest serves to rock said shafts forwardly.

6. The combination with a skeleton frame provided with supporting-wheels and draft appliances, of a plurality of diagonally-arranged shafts journaled in said frame, a plurality of overlapping scraper-blades independently connected to said shafts by springarms, an upwardly projecting and rearwardly-inclined lever-arm attached to each shaft, a seat supported upon said lever-arms, an upwardly-projecting and forwardly-inclined lever-arm attached to each shaft and a foot-rest supported upon said lever-arms.

7. The combination with a skeleton frame provided with supporting-wheels and draft attachments, of diagonally-arranged rockshaft-s jjournaled in said frame, overlapping scraper-blades spring-supported upon each shafts 9 shaft, rearwardly and forwardly inclined le- 115,

verarms projecting upwardly from each shaft, a seat and a foot-rest supported respectively upon the rearwardly and the forwardly inclined lever-arms and a hand-lever operatively connected to said shafts.

8. The combination with a skeleton frame provided with supporting-wheels and draft devices, of diagonally-arranged rock-shafts mounted in said frame, overlapping scraperblades spring-supported on said shafts and :25,

means for utilizing the weight of the operator to depress and to elevate said scraper-blades.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 18th day of January, 1899.

- LORIN W. TOWNE. Witnesses: w

F. E. KINGSBURY, L. G. LITOHFIELD. 

